Cornell Systems Engineering faculty members Tim Fraser and Haiyan Deng delivered the closing keynote address at the National Society of Professional Engineers Annual Conference 2026. They presented together with Gina Park, Ph.D. ’24, a former Cornell School of Civil and Environmental Engineering postdoctoral research and current air pollution specialist at the California Air Resources Board. Held at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, the panel addressed engineers and policymakers from across the United States.
The fireside-chat keynote – moderated by Cornell alumni Andrew Yarmus ’94 – discussed the environmental impacts of New York City’s congestion pricing program over its first 18 months of operation.
The presentation expanded upon the team’s landmark study published in npj Clean Air, which established causal evidence of the policy’s early success. Findings confirmed an average 22% reduction in daily maximum PM2.5 particulate matter concentrations attributable to the cordon tolling policy during its initial evaluation period. During the session, the researchers shared an assessment of localized air quality trends within the Manhattan Central Business District versus the city at large and discussed implications for other U.S. cities considering adopting congestion pricing.